POC drug screening quiz

Why might some providers want to use point-of-care (POC) urinary drug screen testing in pain management clinics?

• The most common reasons are convenience and fast turnaround time. Having immediate test results fosters patient engagement and satisfaction by reducing wait time and enabling practitioners to provide immediate consultations. The positive versus negative screen result is also easy for providers and patients to understand. 
• Another reason is cost. In the eyes of general practitioners, it is
  cheaper to purchase urinary drug test cups than to send a test to a
  central or reference laboratory. However, proper pain management testing
  often requires additional mass spectrometry–based drug testing.

The utilization of a POC urinary drug screen test in a pain clinic is very limited and the information it provides is often not sufficient to enable proper patient consultation. Because most providers need assistance in interpreting toxicology tests, the use of POC urinary drug screening is likely to cause more confusion. AACC addresses this problem with a pain management compliance test that offers decision support for pain management drug testing.

Take the quiz and check your knowledge.


Related CLN article:
Pitfalls of Point-of-Care Urinary Drug Screening for Pain Management

Source: AACC